


Learn What's Never Shown

by aurons_fan



Category: Treasure Planet (2002)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:20:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21832825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aurons_fan/pseuds/aurons_fan
Summary: Jim Hawkins stumbles across an old friend while on a mission from the Intersteller Academy.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 109
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	Learn What's Never Shown

**Author's Note:**

  * For [maplemood](https://archiveofourown.org/users/maplemood/gifts).



> Yuletide Giftee, I hope you enjoy! I know you asked for post canon, but _technically_ this fits within canon, before that final scene at the inn. So it's ...kinda post canon? Kinda not? But I hope you enjoy all the same.
> 
> Also I have learned so much about Treasure Island. I should just read the dang book. But Silver was quite a badass, and quite intelligent. I also discovered how much my colleagues know about pirate lingo when I asked for some help and instead of asking me why I needed to understand the functions of a quartermaster, they answered in great detail. They will never see this thanks, but thanks colleague!
> 
> The name Anamaria is from the Pirates of the Caribbean. IDK, they’re both lady pirates. No relation.
> 
> Also, as always, thank you R for the edit!

There was just one more assignment, and Jim would _finally_ be done with his first year at the Academy. 

Don’t get him wrong -- he loved what he did at the Interstellar Academy. Although Captain Amelia’s recommendation had gotten him a foot in the door, he still had to prove he was worthy of being there. But even so, being able to peruse the library and pore over star charts or use the school’s longboats and practice flying was _so_ worth it everything else he had to deal with. 

But he was _so over the students_. 

One of his professors had made a comment about how he’d been recommended by Captain Amelia -- whose father was one of the head professors at the school and apparently a _huge_ deal -- and Jim was vaguely worried that he would be made fun of, mocked for his upbringing, or something. He did watch a ton of holo-net shows, but when he glimpsed at the screen when his mother had, that always seemed to be a basic plot. 

But instead, people gave him a wide berth. Very few of his fellow students would talk to him, and it took him a long time to figure out why. When it hit him, he felt like a damn fool.

Of course the holo-net would have reports about the sudden explosion in the sky. And of _course_ Captain Amelia’s ship appearing from a hidden door into Montressor would make it into the news reports. He hadn’t really focused on them once he’d returned, because he was too busy trying to help his mother rebuild the inn before getting called away to join the Academy.

But there had been pictures. He vaguely remembered the sound of photographers as he had stepped onto the dock, capturing him and Doppler helping the Captain off the ship. They probably couldn’t see his face too well, but his ponytail probably wasn’t all that hard to recognize.

He would have to cut that thing off someday. 

But that was neither here nor there. Jim was in the last few months before the Academy had their break. And his assignment was to research some backwater planet, trying to figure out the exact atmospheric phenomena that managed to give it a slightly bluish tinge when seen from space. 

This was stupid.

Normally, he probably would’ve begged for a cooler, more interesting sounding mission, but this was the only one he could do by himself. It was supposed to be just a quick trip, a longboat ride to and from the school, but he’d gotten… kind of lost. 

Well, he had gotten distracted and followed a shooting star, not considering where it could lead, and he hadn’t really looked at his map… and here he was. 

He stumbled into the first small inn that he could find after landing on the planet. As he expected, it was filled to the brim with creatures of all types, many of which reminded Jim of the crew members from the R.L.S. Legacy. He resisted the urge to tug his jacket around himself tighter and instead pulled a stool up to the bar, crouching over the counter. He fumbled the map of his assignment out of his jacket pocket. 

He wasn’t about to ask for help - but it might be a good idea to try and orient himself before leaving the planet. Figure out where he could be before hopping in a ship. 

He flagged down the bartender, about to ask for a drink, when a conversation from behind caused him to pause. 

“Word is, he actually _found_ Flint’s ship. Snagged some of that treasure, you see. We just have to figure out _where_ he’s hiding, and then we’ll be as rich as if we’d be there ourselves."

Jim managed to stumble through his order out of habit, but his heart raced. There was no way they… he didn’t look that similar to those holos, did he? Shit… would he have to sprint out of here? He didn’t want to turn around, didn’t want to make it obvious that he was listening. 

“How much trouble could he be? Rumor has it that his cybernetic leg was injured. It should be a breeze to take him down!”

Jim’s stomach did a flip. They... weren’t _talking_ about him. They probably hadn’t even noticed him in the bar. But cybernetic leg? Flint’s treasure? There was only one cyborg they could’ve been discussing.

In the back of his mind, he’d wondered what had happened to Silver. He could still see the wave of the cyborg’s cap as the longboat floated from view. He didn’t… worry about the man, of course not. But it was just him out there. No Morph, no nothing. Jim almost felt bad; every time he went home to visit his mother, Morph was _there_ , helping with dishes and entertaining guests. 

Meanwhile, Silver was probably traversing the galaxy _alone_.

Jim maneuvered himself so he could see the group talking about Silver, and what a group it was. One human, one creature that looked like a pile of rocks stacked one on top of the other, and one crabby spider beast that reminded Jim a _little_ too much of Scroop. Jim tensed, forcing his face into a calm expression so he could listen without causing suspicion.

They didn’t _add_ much to their conversation, much to Jim’s dismay. The rock creature made some rumbling noises, and the human and Scroop look-alike started arguing. 

“Silver was Flint’s quartermaster for almost a half-century,” the human spat, leaning onto the table. “And before he was tossed off the ship, he was apparently the only damn creature that Flint ever feared.”

Scroop-lite hummed and leaned back in his seat, the picture of calm. “His mutiny failed and Silver was tossed off the ship. Besides… I heard rumors, you see.” 

His voice was almost as slimy and oily as Scroop’s had been, and Jim resisted the urge to shiver. 

The pile of rocks rumbled again. Jim scratched his ear, frowning slightly. He really wasn’t good at languages; he needed to practice more. 

“Rumors that Silver had gone soft on the ship. Latched onto some human kid,” Scroop-lite chuckled, clicking his claws in a way that made the hairs on Jim’s neck stand up straight. “All we have to do is find Silver’s current weakness, and use it to exploit him.”

They laughed, loud and throaty. Obnoxious and overbearing. Jim’s mind went fuzzy, static-like. He almost wanted to jump to his feet and take them all on in a fight -- he had trained enough that he probably could hold his own for a little while. Instead, he forced himself to take in deep breaths before draining his drink. He tossed a few coins onto the table and stormed out the door, making sure to turn up his collar as he passed by the trio.

Better safe than sorry.

As he walked away from the bar, he could almost _hear_ Silver reminding him about picking his fights better in the back of his mind. At the very least, that was one thing he had gotten better at. He wasn’t going to try and throw down with three idiots who didn’t know anything in a bar, no matter how much he wanted to. 

Jim paused suddenly, slowly pivoting where he stood. He... could’ve sworn he _actually_ heard Silver’s voice. He scanned the nearby buildings, trying to figure out why he was losing his mind, when he heard the clanging and rotating noises of cybernetic limbs. He turned, and under a ridiculous cloak, there was that familiar smile. Jim’s eyes widened.

“Seems like you finally did learn something, eh, Jimbo?” Silver asked, raising an eyebrow. “Three on one is never good odds.”

Jim wasn’t one to cry, and especially not on a busy street, so when he felt tears in his eyes, he looked down. He felt a hand on his shoulder and the tears got worse. He scrubbed at his face. 

“You old scallywag,” he said. He tried to sound nonchalant and indifferent, but his voice cracked halfway through.

The bar door opened. It wasn’t the trio that left, but Jim tensed regardless. Considering what the trio had said and who was in front of him… he was in no condition to fight. Not with tears still leaking from his face. 

Silver let out a chuckle and turned, cyborg leg creaking in a way that, in a short time, had somehow become familiar to Jim. “Come on. I have to show you something.”

\--

They walked for sometime, with Jim grilling Silver with every question that came to mind. There was a point when Jim realized they’d passed the same building three times, but he didn’t take offense at the runaround. One could never be too careful when running from the police, especially on backwater planets like this.

“After I left you an’ Morphy on the ship, I knew they’d be out looking for me. So I’ve been bouncing around from place to place, and you know, Jimbo, I think I might have found exactly my favorite planet in the whole galaxy.”

“Here? This backwater place?” Jim asked, eyes wide. “You actually _chose_ to stay here?”

“Hey, this place ain’t so bad once you get to know her!” Silver said, giving a full belly laugh. “The missus is especially fond of this place, seeing as it’s where she was born.”

Jim paused, almost tripping over his feet. “Missus… wait, you’re married?!” He tried to figure out the timeline in his head. He frowned. “Wait, did… you like, _just_ get married? Are you married for tax benefits or something? How did you even meet--”

Silver laughed again, and Jim felt a cybernetic arm push him forward, toward a small little… gate? “Why don’t you ask her yourself?”

In his confusion, Jim somehow missed the small home they had stumbled upon. They hadn’t walked near any other homes, and it almost felt like this one had just come up out of the blue. 

Before he could make a snide comment about the beautiful flowers that lined the front walkway, the door seemed to crash open and a woman stormed out. She had dark brown skin, and her hair was in long locs that were piled into a style on top of her head. She was… _tiny_ in stature and in build, but from how she stormed up to the two of them, she definitely carried a presence larger than life. 

“John! What good are you to me if you can’t even bring back what I ask from the market!” She exclaimed, giving him a shove. 

Jim blinked, unsure how to react, but Silver just laughed and placed a hand over hers, pulling her in closely. “My lovely lady, I simply _missed_ your presence! I couldn’t be away from you for even a moment longer!”

She flushed and pulled her hand from his grip. “Don’t give me that -- you _promised_ you’d pick up some…” She paused for a moment, then turned so quickly to Jim that he almost jumped out of his skin. “Wait a minute. _Waitaminute_ , is this Jim?” He didn’t have a chance to react before she was right next to him, squeezing his cheeks. “Honey, he’s _adorable_.”

Jim flailed under her grip because she was _strong,_ and he shot Silver a helpless look. He finally noticed that one of her arms wasn’t flesh -- it was cybernetic as well. Significantly smaller and with less obvious functions than Silver’s, but still, it reflected the sunlight, catching Jim’s eye. 

Silver took pity on him. “Anamaria, cut the boy some slack! Let him inside at least!”

She stepped back, still beaming up to Jim. He was too busy looking around at everything, just trying to absorb it all.

The house was an adorable little cottage, almost like something out of a picture book, with beautiful blue-trimmed windows and a flourishing garden. If Jim was being honest, a small part in the back of his mind thought that he’d eventually want to get married and have a house tucked away like this, but… _Silver_? He looked up to see Silver beaming back at him, and Jim gave him a weak smile. 

The pirate really had changed. To be fair, so had he, but it was still _so weird to see_. 

Anamaria stepped in, waving her hands. “Don’t be a stranger -- come! We’ll have tea.”

There wasn’t even a moment to argue with her as she started shoving Jim inside. Jim tried to throw Silver a helpless look, but Annamaria had pushed him ahead far too quickly.

A pot of tea later, they were all sitting around in a small living space, the entire idea of Silver having a home, nay, a _cottage_ , still mind-boggling to Jim. 

Silver (whose first name was apparently John and Jim simply never thought to ask??) fit onto the couch, and Anamaria cozied up beside him. They fit perfectly together and it was so cute that it bordered on disgusting. 

Silver! Cute! The very idea rocked Jim’s worldview to the core. Whatever could change?!

The tiny woman held her cup and watched Jim like a hawk, her smile almost impish.

Jim couldn’t even grab his own cup, head pulsing with too many questions. He leaned forward in the chair he’d been given, but Silver raised his cybernetic arm, stopping Jim in his inquiry.

“Before you ask, I _might_ not have given you all the treasure I had in my pockets,” Silver said. He gave a smile almost as mischievous as Anamaria’s. “I _thought_ I had tossed it all to you but… Well, I couldn’t come home after an adventure like that with _nothing_ , you understand? This little lady here might have had my hide! But that’s how we got all…” he waved an arm, guesturing to the cottage.

“Never you mind that. Jim Hawkins,” Anamaria said, grinning. “Is that an Interstellar Academy uniform?”

Jim didn’t know why he looked down because he _knew_ what he was wearing. “Yeah, uh, Captain Amelia wrote me a recommendation letter to get in and…” he paused, looking back up to her, only to see the grin widening on her face. “Wait, how… would you recognize this outfit?”

“Do you think _all_ pirates just jumped on a ship and started thievin’?” Silver asked. “I met her while she was in the Academy.”

Jim’s eyes widened. “Wait… _you_ were in the Academy?”

Anamaria let out a small laugh before climbing off the couch. “It sounds like you two have a lot to catch up on. But you better pick up my groceries when you head out again, alright?”

If Jim hadn’t been right there, he never would’ve believed his eyes, but she leaned forward and she and Silver nuzzled noses. It was adorable. It was _so weird_. It was like when his mom saw some attractive dude on the holos and made a cooing noise. 

Jim averted his eyes and reached forward for the cup of tea. He winced -- still too hot.

She laughed again before leaving the room, taking her cup with her. Jim finally glanced up to Silver, who looked so happy that it was throwing him off. Maybe it wasn’t that he looked _happy_ \-- that was probably the wrong word. The cyborg looked at peace. And it made Jim glad to see, despite how weird it was. 

Jim wanted to keep asking about how Silver had dodged the military in his escape from the R.L.S. Legacy. He wanted to ask what else Silver had done with the money he had apparently pocketed, because if the handful of coins Jim had gotten had built an inn and helped him with the costs for the Academy, even a coin or two had to buy more than a cottage.

Instead, another thought came to mind -- the conversation at the bar he had overheard. And before he knew what he was doing, he started speaking.

“You knew Flint, didn’t you? That’s why you were so desperate to go after his treasure. You were his quartermaster?” The smile faded from Silver’s face quickly. Jim was almost ashamed for that, but he wanted to know. “Why did Flint fear you? What were you…?” 

Jim trailed off as Silver leaned back on the couch, his eyes a little harder. They sat in silence for a long while, long enough that Jim was afraid Anamaria would come back and kick him out. He didn’t know what to say though -- he had probably crossed a line. He shouldn’t have asked something that was potentially personal and…

A small smile suddenly quirked on Silver’s face but there was no humor in it. It was significantly darker, and reminded Jim of a Silver that Jim didn’t want to get on his bad side. Again. “Is that why you’re here, Jimbo? I thought I told you about your battles--”

“No!” Jim exclaimed, sitting forward quickly. The tea sloshed around in his cup but luckily didn’t spill. “No, I’m just… I’m out here looking for some information about a class assignment and I’m actually kind of lost finding the planet. But the people in the bar were talking about you and I just… You had mentioned before we found the treasure about chasing a dream, and I thought…”

Neither of them said anything for a long moment. Jim wished he had never opened his mouth, never even had the thought cross his mind. But it had and he did. He was just going to have to deal with the consequences. 

“I was just like you, you know. Filled with attitude, anger.” Silver flexed his human hand for a moment before rubbing his face. “I was damn good at my job, and _I_ was the reason that Flint found a large chunk of change. I just wanted what I was owed.” There was a beat, and Silver let out a soft laugh, before leaning back on the couch.. “And Flint, well. He didn’t much like that.

“But when you know everything about a ship, and you have the entire crew rallying behind you… it’s enough to even scare good ol’ Flint. Enough that the next morning, I found myself alone on a spaceport, with nothing but the clothes on my back.” Silver shook his head. “She found me. Somehow wasn’t afraid of my missing limbs and such at the time and helped clean me up and fit me with the latest gear.” He wiggled his cyborg fingers. “And we worked together to take down Flint. It just took longer than expected and so many different methods.

“So you see, Jimbo, I’m not that bad of a guy. Just someone who was forgotten when it mattered.” There was a beat, then Silver shook his head, giving a broad smile. “Eh, but that’s all in the past. I’m here now. Things are good. The missus is happy. And look at you, an Academy boy. Things really are going well, eh?”

Jim tapped his nails on the cup he was holding. “I… It’s funny, you know. A lot of the students at school recognize me from the holos. And no one will speak to me because they think you were this, like, big bad murderous pirate.” He waved a hand, clearing his throat. “Which is _fine_ , of course, because I don’t need them, and--”

He stopped when Silver shook his head. “Still haven’t learned much, have you? Wouldn’t be where I am today without a helping hand.”

Jim rolled his eyes. “Silver, I’m not exactly looking for a girlfriend to fix me up.”

Silver snorted, leaning back in his seat. “Lad, I was talking about you.”

Jim blinked. “I…” He sat back, looking down at the tea leaves. “Oh.”

“Could’ve sold me out to the highest bidder, could’ve let me rot in jail,” Silver said, inspecting his hands. “But instead, you threw this old cyborg a bone and let him return to his wife. And I’ll not be forgetting that anytime soon."

Jim flushed, trying to wave away the thanks, the appreciation. Silver just smiled.

\--

Anamaria offered to let Jim stay for dinner ( _offered_ because she quickly amended by saying that no one was going to eat until _someone_ picked up the groceries he had _promised to bring home_ ), but Jim declined. He had been away for some time; this mission should’ve only lasted a few hours, and it seemed like half a day had vanished beneath the sky, and he hadn’t even found the right planet yet.

Silver walked out with him, his movements slower than Jim remembered. He still used his arm as a cane, but stood taller that he had on the walk over. “Now, Jimbo, I’d say don’t be a stranger, but considering you won’t be able to find us after this, you just might have to be.”

“What are you talking about? I know where your house is!” Jim turned around, only to see a large plot of nothing behind them. “I… Wait. What happened?”

“Can’t have everyone poking around my living quarters!” Silver boomed out a laugh. “They’d try to see what else I had hidden around there.”

Jim nodded, hands stuffed into his pockets. “Also, uh… Morph says hi. Or well, he would, if he were here. Too busy helping my mom at the inn. They also don’t really allow pets at the Academy…”

Silver shook his head, almost comically. “I give that Morphy _one task_ and he can’t even do that! I should’ve known!” But he placed a large hand on Jim’s shoulder, and gave a small squeeze. “Look after yourself, Jimbo.”

There was a moment when Jim thought to turn and walk away. He was really never going to see Silver again. And something small inside felt like it was about to crack, but there wasn’t much he could do about it, so he forced himself to nod and smile a bit.

Dammit, tears welled up. He wiped at his face quickly, hoping Silver wouldn’t see.

“You’re going to do great things, kid,” Silver said. Jim looked up, and Silver was beaming down at him. “If Morphy won’t listen to my orders, then I’ll just have to keep an eye on you.” 

Somehow, Jim knew this really would be the last time he saw Silver. He hoped it wasn’t true, but there was something in his gut that just made it hurt so much. He stepped forward to hug the man.

“Take care, Silver,” Jim said. 

With one final squeeze on Jim’s shoulder, Silver stepped back turned and headed down the street. 

Jim watched him go for a long moment. It took a little while, long enough that Jim almost turned and walked away, but eventually Silver turned back. Once he realized that Jim was watching, he let out a laugh, and raised a hand. 

The smile on Jim's face was so wide it almost hurt. 

With that, Jim nodded to himself, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and turned around, walking back towards his longboat.


End file.
